Handle



Nov. 19, 1929. J. w. WATERER HANDLE Filed June 25, 1927 lun;

fl TTORNE r.

Patented Nov. 19, 1929 UNITEDr STATES PATENT OFFICE JOHN WILLIAMWATERER, OF GREENWICI-I, LONDON, ENGLAND, ASSIGNOR TO BAR- ROW,`HEPBURN& GALE, LIMITED, OF LONDON, ENGLAND HANDLE Application led .Tune 25,1927, Serial No. 201,389, and in Great Britain March 23, 1927.

p A compact stowage of the handles of portable and other articles andfor other puri poses when the handles are not in use, is desirable withmany different types of handles, as for example those on portablegramophones, cameras, and the like which now upstand rather pronouncedlyand in many cases inconveniently, from the surface of the case,inconvenience stepping in on account of obstruction, as for instance, ifa winding handle or other working part has to be insei-ted at or near oradjacent to the handle, or, if a fall down front is laid upon a table orother support, or if a number of cases of fing arched or of lying flat,or substantially so, and provided with slide guides on or secured to thearticle lying in a plane parallel, or substantially parallel, to thearticle, in which each end of the handle is attached to one end of alink forming a longitudinal eX- tension of the handle, the other end ofwhich link slides freely in thecorresponding slide' guide to allow thehandle ends to move away from the surface and towards each other duringthe arching, and move towards the surface and recede from each otherduring the attening.

Arching the handle is preferred to be opposed by yielding means whichre-ac't positively on the sliding connection with the article so thatthe handle when not in use is automatically returned to and retained inits alternative and normal position lying Hat or Hush on the article.

The drawings show a constructional example of the invention, Fig. 1being a side view of an attachJ case, Fig. 2 a section on 1-1 of Fig. 1,Fig. 3 a lan view, Fig. 4 a section on 3-3 of Fig. 3, *ig. 5 an enlargedsection on 1-1 of Fig. 1, Fi 6 is a plan View of a recessed handle, Figa section on 6.--6 of Fig. 6, and Fig. 8 an end View of one of thehandle plates.

In the drawings, 1 is a strip or blade of spring steel embodied in aleather handle 2 and having links 3 at its ends.

The links 3 move in hollow fittings or handle plates 4, 5 on thearticle, the links 3 not being wider or substantially wider than thewidth of the handle and being able to recede into the hollow fittings orhandleplates 4, 5 in a notably elegant manner.

The hollow fittings or handle plates 4, 5 are in the form of shallowbox-like plates having a pair of slots or notches 6, 7 in the end wallopposite the handle ends for vthe purpose of receiving the links 3 insliding engagement therewith.

These shallow box-like plates may be secured to the article in diversways. One way which serves well is to provide the plates with tangs orears 8 adapted to be passed through the wall of the article and foldedor-doubled back toward or away from each other to lie along the insideof the wall (Fig.

4) to which if desired they may be-furtherl v steel strip or blade 1with its integral sliding links 3, the handle really being a metalhandle but resembling a handle of leather or some equivalent material,the spring strip 1 being energized by arching the handle and re-actingpositively on the sliding connection with the article to self-return thehandle to a flat position. y

lnuse the handle 2 arches under the load and the links 3 slide intocontactwith the nearer sides of the box-like fittings 4, 5 on thearticle and pivot to allow movement of thel handle ends away from thesurface, but on the removal of the load following the release of thehand-grip, the action of the spring 1, positively returns the handle 2to its normal position lying against the surface of the article 9, orflush in a recess 10 therein, and the links 3 which are end-on or intandem movement of approach and recession for arching or opening of thehandle given to the other end.

The present invention rather notably lends itself to mass productionunder favourable conditions with regard to manufacturing'assembling andfitting economies.

The effect of the blade spring v1 may just as well'be obtained bycylindric spiral tension springs 12 (Fig. 3) attached to the links, orthe links may pull against cylindric spiral y compression springs, thesprings in either connected to the opposite ends of the handle casereacting positively on the links to selfreturn the handle to a fiatposition. No claim is made to springs attached' to the handle ends perse.

The bulk of the handle may be increased for heavier articles Withoutopposing the action of the spring, by using as a longitudinal packing astrip of rubber 13 Which may serviceably be of semi-torpedo shape. 14 isa bre strip packing.

The term parallel used in the claims is to be read as meaning parallelor substantially parallel.

1. A collapsible luggage handle', comprising a longitudinally flexiblehandle portion capable of being arched and flattened, links portion andproviding longitudinal eXtensions thereof, and slide-guides ladapted forattachment to the luggage in position to receive said links, lsaid linksbeing curved lengthwise and adapted to slide freely in said guides andin a plane substantially parallel with the surface of the luggage.

2. A collapsible handle for luggage, comprising a handle portionlongitudinally iexible and adapted to be arched and flattened, linksmounted upon the opposite ends of the handle portion and providinglongitudinal extensions thereof, and a relatively flat enclosed housingarranged at each end of the handle portion and adapted to receive saidlinks therein, said links being curved lengthwise of the handle portionand adapted to freely slide into and out of said housings in a planesubstantially parallel with the surface of the luggage. e

3. A collapsible handle for luggage comprising a longitudinally flexiblehan le portion capable of being arched and flattened, a

spring in said handle portion for normally urging the same intoflattened position against the side of the luggage, alink mounted uponeach end of the handle portion, a slide guide of box formation mountedon the luggage at each end of the handle portion for receiving saidlinks, said links being curved longitudinally to admit of the freesliding movement of the links in said guide and in a plane parallel withthe surface of the luggage.

In testimony whereof, I affix my signature.

JOHN WILLIAM WATERER.

